CHENNAI: Well ahead of the Assembly elections, scheduled to be held this summer, the DMK seems to have almost finalised its seat-sharing agreements with alliance partners after playing hardball.
As per senior sources in the party, the Dravidian major has agreed to allocate around 20 seats to the Congress. Both the Left parties may be given eight seats each, and the MDMK may get 8-10 seats.
Thirumavalavan’s VCK is likely to get six seats, while IUML and MMK will be given two each. Smaller partners KMDK and Tamilaga Valvurimai Katchi may also get two each, but will have to contest on the DMK symbol to avoid any last-minute surprises.
Senior functionaries in both the DMK and one of the alliance partners confirmed that the seat-sharing formula has been accepted and welcomed by all those involved. The DMK insiders also said this was possible because the party struck a hard bargain at the very beginning.
It initially sent out a message that only the Congress, which is a national party, would be given seats in the double digits. Rest of the partners will have to make peace with the fact that they would get less than five seats. This announcement startled not just the alliance partners, but also the second-rung leaders of the DMK.
DMK strikes a hard bargain, wins over alliance parties
THIS election season, the Dravidian majors have the unenviable task of having to keep their alliance partners happy while also retaining a large chunk of the seats of their own candidates to avoid the possibility of coalition governments. This was thought to be especially hard for DMK, which has been out of power for a decade, and needs to make both its allies and prospective candidates happy by ensuring there is enough for everyone.
To achieve this, party insiders say, DMK struck a hard bargain. After making an announcement that all alliance partners but the Congress would get less than five seats, panic set in among the second-rung leaders of the Dravidian major. “They started suggesting that the leadership be a little more generous with the partners, to ensure that the alliance does not crumble,” a senior leader said.
“Later, the DMK leadership informed its allies that it would increase the number of seats it was allocating to each of them, based on which new numbers were announced.” H aving cross the number barrier, the senior leader added, the alliance partners are now discussing who will get which seat. “Some have even begun poll works. Had the DMK announced this figure at the start, the partners would have sought a higher number.” Conversation with the leader of an alliance party suggested the strategy had worked for the DMK.
Cong to get 20 seats?
As per senior sources in the DMK, the party has agreed to allocate around 20 seats to the Congress. Both the Left parties may be given eight seats each, and the MDMK may get 8-10 seats